Israeli Troops Tear Gas West Bank Protesters Following Death of Teen

Israeli Troops Tear Gas West Bank Protesters Following Death of Teen

17-year-old boy shot by Israeli border police on his birthday

by

Jacob Chamberlain, staff writer

Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at West Bank protesters in Hebron Thursday, a day after a Palestinian teenager was shot dead by Israeli forces in the city. Five Palestinian youths are reported to be injured in the protests so far, and four teenagers have been detained by Israeli soldiers.

Thousands marched through the streets of Hebron during a funeral procession for Mohammed Suleima, the 17-year-old boy who was shot dead by Israeli paramilitary border police on his birthday.

Protests against the shooting first broke out Wednesday night, with reports of Israeli forces using tear gas and live ammunition against the demonstrators, Al Jazeerareports.

"They have orders to shoot with live bullets now," a resident of Hebron told Al Jazeera Wednesday.

Suleima was unarmed at the time of the shooting and Palestinian sources claim he had failed to heed orders to halt at a military checkpoint because he was hard of hearing—although stories vary.

Some news agencies reported that Suleima had been shot up to six times.

Suleima's family said Israeli forces prevented them from burying hum in the cemetery next to their home, which is close to an Israeli settlement

"We lost a friend, a brother, and a sporting hero," his friend Ahmad Al-Jamal toldMa'an.

Palestinian youth who took to the streets to protest the boy's killing were met with tear gas and rubber bullets again on Thursday.

Tensions have remained high in Hebron, where hundreds of ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers have built heavily-guarded enclaves.

Further

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